Getting-It-Built Workshop

More cohousing communities have been launched as a result of this workshop than by any other means.

The Getting-It-Built (GIB) Workshop is a weekend-long workshop led by Chuck Durrett. Through activities and group discussion cohousing groups learn how to clarify their values and learn how to create their management team. Development (including financial and legal), design, and feasibility is discussed.

More cohousing communities in North America have been successfully launched by this workshop than by any other means. It provides focus to your group’s time and energy, and aids in moving a project past initial feasibility to getting the required commitment and buy-in from a group of community members, investors, project developers and other professionals. This is an efficient and necessary step for the integration of the project budget and financing, the design and development, and the community building and sales required for a successful cohousing project.

This full-weekend workshop (typically, 9-5 Saturday and 10-4 Sunday) is given by Chuck Durrett of The Cohousing Company, whose experience is grounded in 35 years designing over fifty socially vibrant and environmentally sustainable communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Getting-It-Built Workshop provides a clear overview of the cohousing development process, covering development strategies, timelines, financing options, raising the money, working together, and outreach and recruitment to give your group the tools to effectively plan your next steps.

In addition to customizing the workshop to fit your community’s specific needs, the Getting-It-Built also covers the following general areas:

The Cohousing Process

•     An overview of the development process, from initial meetings to moving in.

•     Forming and organizing a group, working together, and issues to address early in the process.

•     Development Scenarios – the group’s role, consultant’s roles, and options for finding and working with a developer.

The Technical Issues

•     Financing options, ownership structures and financial realities. (What will it cost?)

•     Designing for community – design issues.

Working Together

•     How does the group organize to make decisions effectively?

•     Getting along – the dynamics of group interaction and reaching your potential.

What Next?

•     Am I ready? What do we do now? Next steps.

•     Your role, the group’s role, and the role of professionals.

For more information about GIB, please email charles.durrett@cohousingco.com.